About Testing Globalized Software

This topic can help you test the efforts of your software internationalization and localization teams.

System Configuration

To test the configuration, you first need to establish what your key platforms are for your database servers, Siebel Servers, your clients, and your operating systems for each language you intend to deploy within your network.

Each supported platform must be tested, keeping in mind that there may be subtle differences or additional third-party software required in some cases. For example, MUI (Multilingual User Interface technology) for Windows 2000 or Windows XP may be required.

Testing for Internationalization

Test your globally deployed applications to verify that all internationalization-related features function correctly.

For example, to test for character integrity during saving and retrieving data, you might create test cases that use a wide range of characters from your target languages. For a particular target language or set of languages, enter such data into fields and save the record. Check that you can search for the records and find them. Select the records and view them, checking that all of the data values you input are unchanged. After entering, saving, and retrieving the data records in the target language, no square boxes or question marks should appear in the data.

Verify layout for address fields, for example support for state/province

Verify postal code is not a required field for a country with no postal codes

Verify measurement units, metric or imperial

Verify interaction with third-party software

Verify import/export operations

Verify taxation system support

Verify translations are not truncated or otherwise corrupt

Verify that only translatable items are translated

Testing for Linguistic Quality

Use people in your field offices whenever possible to help you check the localization for linguistic accuracy and consistency. Test any custom terms with the field, and pick terms that will be used often. For example, if you use a term like currency rollup, make sure it is correctly translated for your field users.

Using Automated Test Software

Third-party software is available to automate some test functions, although it does not replace the need for human testing.

Automated test software is very useful to test a wide range of characters, because an automated test can check all possible characters in Unicode, for instance. If combined with a random test data generator, it is also more likely to vary the data values much more widely than a human tester will.

On the other hand, an automated test cannot easily detect characters that have been clipped or otherwise hidden on the user interface—this is where the human eye can detect anomalies very quickly.

Of course, it is important to use automated test software that can support Unicode data values, and error messages containing failing data values. If several languages are being tested, it will be most convenient if the test software can switch between each language automatically.

Defect Reporting

Build an efficient process for defect fixing between reviewers, translators, and development.

Make sure that your defect tracking system also supports Unicode data. It is very hard to explain a problem with data values in another language if the defect system does not allow you to put the failing characters into the title or the record of the defect report.